Pope praises Christian, Druze, Muslim coexistence in Lebanon

Pope Benedict XVI in a meeting Saturday with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, praised the peaceful coexistence in Lebanon between various religious communities, including Druze, Christians and Muslims.
Hope was expressed “that the country (Lebanon), through the exemplary coexistence of the various religious communities … may continue to be a ‘message’ for the region of the Middle East and for the whole world,” the Vatican said in a statement issued after the morning talks.
Benedict received Hariri at the Vatican Apostolic Palace where, “in an atmosphere of great cordiality,” their talks focused on Lebanon and the broader situation in the Middle East, the Vatican statement said. DPA

Photo by Dalati & Nohra

Protest in Deir al Qamar against Aoun’s visit

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun had to cancel a visit to the Chamoun Family Burial Ground on Saturday due to protests against his visit by MP Doury Chamoun’s supporters, who blocked the entrance to prevent him from reaching the place :
“In a spontaneous move, and to prevent desecration against the soil of those who fell as martyrs defending the Lebanon of freedom, sovereignty, and independence, hundreds of Chamounists from the Chouf area have gathered since the morning hours in front of the Chamoun Family Burial Ground to protest the provocative visit MP Michel Aoun to the tombs of (late) President Camile Chamoun and Martyr Leader Dani Chamoun,” the National Liberal Party said in a statement.
Chamoun who is the son of the former president Camile Chamoun and brother of the slain Danny Chamoun is the leader of the National Liberal Party

Aoun instead decided to place wreaths at the monument of Mount Lebanon’s martyrs at Deir al-Qamar’s al-Talleh church yard.
After delivering a speech at the church Aoun headed to Mukhtara to meet with Progressive Socialist party leader MP Walid Jumblatt

In a phone interview with LBC TV network, Chamoun ( pictured) said: “Enough abuse of martyrs … General Aoun should have visited (Deir al-Qamar) when he first returned from exile.”
“With such actions, he is trying to market himself again for the presidency while he ended after his decision to ‘trade’ off St. Maroun,” Chamoun added.
Chamoun , a key member of March 14 Christian alliance has accused Aoun of providing a Christian cover for Hezbollah.

Chamoun told LBC that his relationship with Jumblatt is based on local Mountain politics, not national politics. Despite Jumblatt’s split from the March 14 alliance last year, Chamoun’s National Liberal Party remains a member of Jumblatt’s Democratic Gathering alliance

Lebanon arrests a wanted citizen at entrance of camp

Lebanese Internal Security Forces issued a statement in which it stated that it has arrested a wanted Lebanese citizen ( born 1971 ) whose initials are A.S. at the entrance of al Badawi Palestinian Refugee camp in northern Lebanon .
The detainee is wanted by the Lebanese courts for various crimes including fraud, bounced checks, forgeries , burning a house and a car. His stolen Mercedes car was confiscated when he was arrested .
Many Lebanese and Palestinian criminals hide inside the camps because based on the so called Cairo accord neither the Lebanese internal security forces nor the army are authorized to enter the camps .
The Cairo accord was signed in Cairo by Yassir Arafat and the Lebanese army commander General Emile Bustani on November 2 , 1969.

Jumblatt: We achieved reconciliation in 2001 when Aoun was in exile

Following their meeting in Mukhtara, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP walid Jumblatt and Free patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun held a joint press conference .

Hariri met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Saturday with Pope Benedict XVI at  the Vatican to discuss the situations in Lebanon and the Middle East.

Hariri then also  held a meeting with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, and Monsignor Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See.

Hariri arrived in Rome Friday afternoon accompanied by his wife Lara, his children ( Hussam,  Lulwa and Abdul Aziz ), and his advisers . The delegation was joined by Lebanese Ambassador to the Vatican George Khoury.

Prior to his departure to Rome Hariri said: “Meeting with the pope has great significance because Lebanon is  the homeland of major Christian sects that we want to preserve.”

“We want to safeguard them and we want them to remain deep-rooted in Lebanon so that Lebanon remains a global exemplar of coexistence,” he added.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Saturday with Pope Benedict XVI . His wife Lara, and children  Hussam,  Lulwa and Abdul Aziz accompanied him

Aoun visits Jumblatt In Mukhtara

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Saturday headed to the Shouf region to visit Progressive Socialist part leader MP Wald Jumblatt at his residence in Mukhtara. He stopped on the way for laying wreaths at the Martyrs’ Monument in Deir al-Qamar. He also visited Deir al-Qamar’s al-Talleh Church.
During a speech at the church he stressed the importance Druze-Christian unity  in Mount Lebanon :
“This visit is addressed to all of the Shouf residents, Christians and Druze, so that we restore harmony in Mount Lebanon.”
Aoun who was forced to cancel a visit to Chamoun Family Burial Ground because of protests against his visit by Deir el Qamar residents later headed to Mukhtara.
In Mukhtara he placed a wreath of flowers at Kamal Jumblat’s tomb before entering the palace for talks with the PSP leader
In Deir al Qamar MP Doury Chamoun told , Aoun has to apologize to the Chamoun family and the National Liberal Party.

Iran launches its guided-missile destroyer ‘Jamaran’

In the midst of a diplomatic standoff over its controversial nuclear program, Iran has rolled out its latest homegrown weapon, a guided-missile destroyer called Jamaran.
“The destroyer’s launch marks a major technological leap for Iran’s naval industries,” Iran’s English-language Press TV reported. The new ship, which sports a helipad, is equipped with anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles, torpedoes and naval cannons.
But just how capable is the destroyer? Few technical details have been released about the ship other than its basic weight of around 1,400 tons. It can carry between 120 and 140 people.
By comparison, the United States’ most modern class of destroyer, the Arleigh Burke, is more than 8,000 tons, and its possible successor, the Zumwalt class destroyer, is expected to weigh in at more than 14,000 tons.
The destroyer was named “Jamaran” , after the name of the neighborhood where the late Ayatollah Khomeini lived
AOL

U.S. lifts Syria travel warning

As the Obama administration nominated diplomat Robert S. Ford to be the first U.S. ambassador to Syria since 2005, the U.S. has lifted its travel warnings for Syria, the State Department said.
The lifting of the travel warning comes as the top State Department counterterrorism official, Daniel Benjamin, holds meetings in Damascus this week, and as top U.S. diplomat Bill Burns met with Syrian officials earlier in the week.
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Andrew Tabler writes that the U.S. is also considering lifting its veto on Syria’s membership to the World Trade Organization. Damascus is particularly eager to get U.S. sanctions in place since 1979 lifted.
What does the U.S. want in return? Washington has a long check list: “In the short term, the United States wants the regime to return to talks with Israel and cut off the flow of jihadists into Iraq,” Tabler writes in Newsweek. “In the long term, Washington wants Damascus to sign a treaty with Israel … and end its support for Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Palestinian party Hamas (whose military leadership is based in Damascus).”
What’s the long-term goal? Driving more of a wedge between Sunni Syria and Shiite Iran, Tabler writes. “That’s why Washington is looking for creative ways to turn sticks (sanctions) into carrots (cash).” Politico

Senegal leader to mediate in Niger after coup

Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade said he was heading to Niger this weekend to help defuse a political crisis after soldiers staged a coup Thursday in the uranium-rich African nation.
Mr. Wade was appointed as mediator in Niger’s political crisis on Tuesday by the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS. The Senegal president said he had decided to accelerate the pace of his intervention in Niger after the overthrow of Niger President Mamadou Tandja.
“We need to act fast,” Mr. Wade said from Dakar, in a telephone interview.
“I am confident that soldiers will agree to return to their barracks,” Mr. Wade said. Mr. Wade said he hoped to reach Niamey, the Niger capital, on Saturday. WSJ

U.S. voices concern on Syria’s nuclear activity

The United States on Friday urged Syria to cooperate with the international nuclear watchdog on its suspected nuclear activity, saying the decision to return ambassador to Damascus serves U.S. interests.
On Thursday, the International Atomic energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report that uranium particles found by the agency at a site bombed by Israel in 2007 showed that Syria could have been conducting nuclear-related activity.
“We remain concerned about Syria’s nuclear activity. They have not explained what was happening at the Al Kibar reactor. It’s refused to cooperate with the IAEA or account for chemically processed uranium found at two sites,” said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley.
“The presence of such particles points to the possibility of nuclear-related activities at the site and adds to questions concerning the nature of the destroyed building,” said IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, adding that Syria has yet to provide a “satisfactory explanation” for the origin and presence of the particles. xinhua